Puppies and Gardens - Are They Compatible?

It is no use asking me or anyone else how to dig...Better to go and watch a man digging, and then take a spade and try to do it. Gertrude Jekyll

Really??? Has she never met my pup Jet???

A collie x staffie ( I prefer to prefix the collie, due to the fact as soon as you mention staffie these days people tend to pass nervous glances around...) I got her from Battersea a few weeks ago as a 6 month old (I sometimes wonder why we chose her out of the 400 other dogs available...!). This week she very kindly help me plant a few tree whips in a Billingshurst garden. (A whip is a young tree that has yet to form a head). I had been asked to plant 3 Sorbus aucuparia (Rowan) and 3 Betula pendula (Silver birch) to enhance a wildlife garden. It's a small extension of the main garden and already contains 4 young apple trees. But with a post and rail fence denoting the boundary and nothing but open, windswept fields surrounding, the client agreed to add the new trees to break up the starkness of the fence and to provide some berries and seeds for the birds.

The trees were planted in triangles only a metre apart so that as they grow they will form an instant spinney. The soil is a very light sandy loam, so after digging the holes and adding plenty of bone meal and compost, the trees were planted and watered (eventually).

How to plant trees;

Rule 1 - don't let a puppy help.
Rule 2 - dig the hole twice the size of the rootball; and don't let the puppy help, or copy by digging a smilar hole in the lawn nearby.
Rule 3 - After planting, firm the soil down well and water; and don't let the puppy run off with the watering can.
Rule 4 - If the trees need staking, only stake low down - this will allow the head of the tree to sway in the wind and encourage stronger rooting; don't let the puppy chew the bark.
Rule 5 - Apply rabbit guards even if you think you don't need them; don't let the puppy eat the plastic guards, it's not very pleasant a few hours later.....
Rule 6 - Tie up the puppy, back-fill the holes in the lawn, hide the chewed watering can and apologise to the neighbours for using words that ought not to be uttered in such a quiet Sussex village (when swearing at the ******* pup...).

Mrs M, if you read this, I apologise on behalf of Jet.....

Also during the week I have mown the lawn for the first time at the Sussex Barn conversion - it looks great to have it striped again. Even if it took 2 passes to get the stripes straight! I have also cut all their Cornus (Dogwoods) hard back to within 30cm of the ground; this encourages fresh new shoots and therfore highly coloured stems. Dogwoods that aren't cut every 2-3 years eventually form bark and turn brown. All the Phormiums have also been coppiced down to ground level to remove all the snow damaged leaves. Although not generally recommended, Phormiums respond very well to such severe pruning and soon send up a crop of fresh new foliage.

The West Chiltington cottage has had all it's borders thoroughly cleaned, weeded and the lawn edges tidied. I don't mind autumn leaves staying on beds through the winter as they act as a kind of duvet by insulating the soil. And most get dragged down into the soil by worms to form leaf mould anyway. But with daffodils and tulips just starting to show colour, I prefer the beds to be debris-free and smart to herald the spring.

Sweet pea seeds were soaked in a saucer of warm water tonight ready for sowing mid week - this softens the tough outer shell making germination easier.

A week of sun is promised so dirty those fingers, tie up your dogs, and enjoy yourselves....

Marc x